Composition of matter and preparation of same.



UNITED STAT S ATENT OFFICE. j'

WILLIAM PRAMPOLINI, or SAN LUIS ro'rosI, MEXICO.

COMPOSITIONOF MATTER AND PREPARATlQN-OF SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 702,678, dated June 17, 1902.

. Application filed February 6, 1902.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, WILLIAM PRAMPOLINI, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at San Luis Potosi, Mexico, have discovered a certain new and useful Composition of Matter and Preparation-of the Same, of which the follow- ,ing isa specification.

In Letters Patent of the United States granted to me on March 18, 1900, No. 654,331, 1 have described and claimed a new substitute for india-rubber, consisting of the gummy matter of the shrub called and to which :I have added the botanical name Sy'nanthcrcocas Jlfem'ccmas and known also by the Indian names of Yule, Oopalin, Yerba del Negro, Guayule, Jiguhite, and Hule, and itsmethod of extraction from the shrub containing the gum.

Theshrubis knownin Mexicobythevarious names above given in different localities, and at very short distances apart the shrub may be called Copalin, Guayule, Jiguhite, 820., according to the dialect of the Indians of the special locality. It is best and most widely known officially and commonly by the people of Mexico by the name Guayule. It does not appear to have beendescribed in the botanical works of the United States or Mexico; but it can be easily identified under the designation Guayule. It is not one of the Ettphorbt'acece and does not exudeits gum from the bark, as in the case of rubber trees belonging to the family of Euphorbiacece and in the manner of the Oastilloa, but-contains the gum both in the bark and in the woody fiber in the stems of the shrub, from which it is extracted'by appropriate methods. invention relates to the vulcanization of this gum, (whichI have designated as Twentieth Century Gum.)' I have discovered that the gum of this shrub after it has been extracted can be vulcanized in the same manner as caoutchouc produced from the ordinary indiachouc.

In order to vulcanize my new gum, I mix it with from one to ten per cent. of sulfur,

according to the different uses for which the vulcanized product is designed, the greater Mypresent Serial No. 92.908. (No specimens.)

amount of sulfur being-employed for the harder compounds, as in the case of vulcanized caoutchouc, and the lesser amounts being employed, for the softer compounds.

The sulfur is mixed with the gum, prefer ablyby means of heated rolls at a temperature of from 6 to 8 centigrade, the sulfur being added tothegum very slowly until the mass becomes homogeneous. If it is desired to add coloring-matterlor adulterants to the composition, they should be added in.

afinely-divided state at this stage of the process and mixed with-the gum and sulfur,

upon the heated rolls in the same manner as they are used with caoutch0uc., After the be put and according to the amount of sul- I fur used in the same'manner'as is employed in vulcanizing india-r'ubber, and the composition is subjected to this heat from one to eight hours, according to the thickness of the sheet or mass of material in the mold or frame in the same manner as is employed in voloanizing Para rubber. The resulting composition will be elastic and waterproof, and, although diifering somewhat, as stated, from vulcanized Para rubber, it can be usedas a substitute in very many applications in the arts, while it possesses the advantages of being cheaper than Para rubber and produced from a much more prolific source of supply.

I have found that my gum can be vulcan- -ized by the use not only of pure sulfur, but by the use of the sulfur compounds employed in vulcanizing. the Para rubber, and in using such compounds the method practicedcony forms to that used in vulcanizing Para rubber in the different forms inwhich it is vulcanized for the different uses to which it'is intended to utilize'the product. I have found also that the difierent adulterants and coloring-matters used with Para rubber can also be used with my gum.

As a specific example of the proportions I may state that I have found that a useful sheet of vulcanized Twentieth Century Gum of one-half inch in thickness can be made by mixing on the rolls, as described, one hundred parts of gum to one and one-quarter parts of sulfur. This composition can be vulcanized by subjecting it to a steam-pressure of from four to eight atmospheres for one and three-quarter hours at a heat of 260 to 270 Fahrenheit. I do not, however, as stated above, confine myself to these proportions of ingredients, nor these specific ingredients, nor these specific degrees of heat, nor the specific length of time that the composition is exposed to heat, as I have found that the same methods can be applied to vulcanizing this new gum as are used with the caoutcho uc known as Para rubber, and the same adulterants can be used therewith.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The new composition of matter resulting from heating a mixture of the gummy matter of the shrub called Synanihereoeas llfexicanas, and known also by the Indian names of Yule, Oopalin, Yerba del Negro, Guayule, Jiguhite,and I-Iule, and sulfurorsulfurcompounds,substantially as described.

2. The new composition of matter resulting from heating under pressure a mixture of the gummy matter of the shrub called Synanihereoeas Mexicanas, and known also by the Indian names of Yule, Copalin, Yerba del Negro, Guayule, Jiguhite, and Hule, and sulfur or sulfur compounds, substantially as described.

3. The new composition of matter resulting from heating under pressure a mixture of the gummy matter of the shrub called Syncmthereoeas .Mcxicanas, and known also by the Indian names of Yule, Copalin, Yerba del Negro, Guayule,

Jignhite, and I-Iule, and sulfur or sulfur compounds, and adulterating matter,sub stantially as described.

4. The new composition of matter resulting from heating under pressure a mixture of the gummy matter of the shrub called Syncmthereoeas ilfemicanas, and known also by the Indian names of Yule, Oopalin, Yerba del Negro, Guayule, Jiguhite, and I-Iule, sulfur or sulfur compounds, adulterating matter, and coloring-matter, substantially as described.

5. The method of vulcanizing the gummy matter of the shrub called Syncmthereoeas ilfean'canas, and known also by the Indian names of Yule, Copalin, .Yerba del Negro, Guayule, J'iguhite, and Hule, which consists in mixing said gum with sulfur or its compounds and subjecting the said mixture to heat and pressure, substantially as described.

0. The method of vulcanizing the gummy matter of the shrub called Sfqnanhereoeas lll'emiccmas, and known also by the Indian names of Yule, Copalin, Yerba del Negro, Guayule, Jiguhite, and I-Iule, which consists in mixing said gum with sulfur or its compounds, and adulterating matter, and subjecting the said mixture to heat and pressure, substantially as described.

7. The method of vulcanizing the gummy matter of the shrub called S 'I/77,(t7tflL@7@06CL$ llleact'ccmas, and known also by the Indian names of Yule, Copalin, Yerba del Negro, Guayule, Jiguhite, and Hule, which consists in mixing said gum with sulfur or its compounds, adulterating matter, and coloring-matter, and subjecting the said mixture to heat and pressure, substantially as described.

\VILLIAM PRAMPOLINI.

Vitnesses:

THEODORE FITCH, James M. STEWART. 

